Ramadan

The lunar calendar of Islam brings the fast of the month of Ramadhan eleven days earlier every year. Thus, in a cycle of about thirty-three years, it passes through all the seasons successively. Fast was first prescribed on the second of Sha'ban in the second year of Hijrah (the migration of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, from Mecca to Medina, corresponding to 622 A.D.).

On p. 59, of al-Saduq's Amali (or Majalis), the faqih mentor and author quotes Ja'far ibn Ali ibn al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah al-Kufi as saying that his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Ali quotes his grandfather Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah quoting Isma'eel ibn Abu Ziyad quoting Abu Abdullah Imam Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (as) citing his forefathers, peace be upon all of them, saying that the Messenger of Allah (S)1 once asked his companions, "Shall I tell you about something which, if you do it, will distance you from Satan as much as the distance between the east and the west?"

They said, "O yes! Please do so," whereupon he (S) said, "It is fast. It darkens his [Satan's] face, while charity breaks his back and the love for Allah's sake and assisting others in doing good deeds cut off his tail and seeking Allah's forgiveness splits his spine. For everything there is a zakat (purification), and the zakat of the bodies is fast."

Because the reader will come across the name of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as)2 quite often in this book, we ought to stop here for a moment to introduce this great personality to those who may not be familiar with him. Needless to say, the Imam (as) is very well known to Muslims following the Shi'a Ja'fari Ithna-'Asheri School of Muslim Law; after all, they derive their fiqh from him and regard him as highly as, say, Hanafis regard Imam Abu Haneefah al-Nu'man, or as the Hanbalis regard Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal. But those who are not Shi'as are justified in wondering how Imam al-Sadiq (as) knew the forthcoming information; so, let us introduce them to one of the most knowledgeable men who ever lived on earth:

His full name is Abu Abdullah Ja'far ibn Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Imam Ali al-Azgher Zaynul-'Abidin ibn Imam Husayn ibn Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, of the clan of Banu Hashim, of the tribe of Quraysh, peace and blessings of Allah be upon all of them and many, many salutations. He was born in the sacred precincts of Medina on the 17th of Rabee' al-Awwal of 83 A.H., and he died at the age of 65 after being poisoned by the Abbaside caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur and was buried at Baqee', Medina. His mother was a relative of the first caliph Abu Bakr: she was Umm Farwa Fatima daughter of Abdel-Rahman son of Abu Bakr. His father was Abu Ja'far Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (as) (57 - 114 A.H.), grandson of Imam Husayn (as).

If you wish to realize the greatness of Imam al-Sadiq (as), you will see his praise not only by Sunnis but also by non-Muslims as well, especially since his contributions to his contemporary intellectual revolution were invaluable and quite diverse. Not only was he a theologian, he was also a mathematician, a botanist, and alchemist, a scientist, and a man of letters.

To quote what Shi'as say about him may be out of place here. Probably the best compliment the Imam (as) received was from one of his world famous students: Imam Abu Haneefah al-Nu'man, founder of the major Sunni sect, the Hanafis, who was one of tens of thousands of scholars who prided himself in being Abu Abdullah's students. Abu Haneefah said verbatim: "Lawlal sanatan, la halaka al-Nu'man," which means, "Had it not been for those couple of years, al-Nu'man would have perished," a reference to two years which he spent in Baghdad as a student of Imam al-Sadiq (as) during al-Mansur's caliphate.

In his Musnad Abu Haneefah, Abul-Qasim al-Baghghar quotes al-Hasan ibn Ziyad as saying, "Abu Haneefah was asked once in my presence, 'Who is the most outstanding faqih you have ever seen?' and he answered by saying, 'Ja'far ibn Muhammad. When-al-Mansur brought him [from Medina to Baghdad], he sent for me and said, 'O Abu Haneefah! People are enchanted by Ja'far ibn Muhammad, so you should prepare some of your most difficult questions for him.' I prepared forty questions for him, then his [al-Sadiq's] father was brought from Heera. I visited him, greeted him, and sat at his place of meeting.

Then he turned to him and said, 'O Abu Abdullah! This is Abu Haneefah.' 'Yes, I know him,' he responded. Then he turned to me and said, 'Ask Abu Abdullah some of your questions,' so I kept asking him, and he answered all my questions, telling me our answers to them as well as those of the people of Medina..., till I finished asking him all the forty questions which I had prepared. He fully answered all of them.'" Then Abu Haneefah said, "Is not one who best knows people's different views the most knowledgeable among them?"

Where did Imam al-Sadiq (as) get his knowledge from? Let us answer this question not from the Shi'a but from the Sunni viewpoint in order to satisfy the curiosity of, and perhaps convince, some skeptical readers of this book. On p. 221, Vol. 2, of the original Arabic text of al-Bukhari's Sahih, the author makes a reference to one particular saheefa, a parchment type scroll, which was being written by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) during the revelation of the Holy Qur'an, I.e., during more than two decades, reaching in the end a total length of seventy yards. As he was writing it, Imam Ali (as) used to tie its pieces, one at a time, to his sword's scabbard as a protective measure. This signifies how much he esteemed it.

It consisted of ahadith of the Holy Prophet (S), be they his own or those which he narrated about the Almighty and which he learned from archangel Gabriel (as), I.e. Qudsi ahadith. Al-Bukhari on the said page quotes al-A'mash quoting Ibrahim al-Tameemi quoting his father quoting Imam Ali (as) as saying that all they (Ali and his family) had were "The Book of Allah and this saheefa from the Prophet (S)."

On p. 36, Vol. 1, of al-Bukhari's Sahih, the author quotes al-Sha'bi] quoting Abu Juhayfa asking Ali (as), "Do you have any book?" Ali (as) said, "The Book of Allah, (what we have learned from) some knowledge bestowed upon a Muslim, and this saheefa." "What is written in this saheefa?" asked Abu Juhayfa. Ali (as) said, "It contains reason, [injunctions such as] the freeing of captives, and that no Muslim should kill another Muslim."

On p. 143 of Basair al-Darajat, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) is quoted as saying, "We have the saheefa; it is dictated by the Messenger of Allah (S) and hand-written by Ali (as); nothing permissible or prohibitive except that it is recorded in it, and nothing people need, nor any issue, except that it contains it, even the penalty for slightly scratching one's cheek." Other references to this saheefa exist on pages 67 and 69, Vol. 4, and on p. 144, Vol. 8, of al-Bukhari's Sahih, as well as on p. 115, Vol. 4, of Muslim's Sahih. Another name for this saheefa is al-jami'a, the book which includes or contains all knowledge.

In Arabic, a university is call jami'a, a place where knowledge and those who learn it gather, a gathering place of knowledge and scholarship. If you are fortunate enough to be in possession of a copy of Usool al-Kafi by Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni published in 1990 by Dar al-Ta'aruf of Beirut, Lebanon, read pp. 294-298 of its first volume to learn numarous details about not only this saheefa but also about Fatima's Mushaf, the copy of the Holy Qur'an kept by Fatima (as) daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S) many years before Othman ibn 'Affan asked Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) to help compile the text of the Holy Qur'an.

There are other references to this "university of knowledge," but we think this much suffices to let the reader know that the section of this book dealing with the rewards one receives from reciting a particular chapter of the Holy Qur'an is derived from one of the most ancient, if not the very most ancient, books written in the history of Islam.

Fast of the month of Ramadhan is the fourth pillar of Islam. The Arabic word shahr is used for a month due to its being mushtahir, well-known or famous, that is, the knowledge thereof reaches all people, as we are told by Imam Ibn Manzour, author of Lisan al-Arab on p. 432, Vol. 4. Such knowledge can be attained by sighting its crescent.

As to the reason why it has been called the month of Ramadhan, it is due to the fact that the Arabs gave the names of the months according to the times during which they occurred, and to the fact that it so happened that the month of Ramadhan coincided with the parching days of the summer. Its root word ramd, as the same author tells us on pp. 160-161, Vol. 7, of the same lexicon, means to burn due to excessive sun-heat reflected on the desert sands. The ramda is the burning rock. This is why it was called the month of Ramadhan.

One may say in Arabic that a man's feet were burnt due to the heat, so he became ramad. It is also said that it was called the month of Ramadhan because people become ramad due to their suffering from the combination of hunger and thirst during a very hot month. Arab linguists say that to make something armad is to squeeze it between two soft rocks then to pound it. A person fasting, by analogy, pounds his own nature between two rocks: hunger and thirst.

According to one of his nUmarous traditions, Prophet Muhammad (S) is quoted saying, "The month of Ramadhan was named so because it tends to ramad the sins, that is, burn them." The righteous at the dawn of Islam used to call it al-midmar, meaning that it emaciates the souls and bodies and helps them get rid of the excesses of evils and sins whereby the souls and bodies were laden. During the life-time of the Prophet (S), the blessed month of Ramadhan used to be called al-marzooq, the one full of sustenance, due to the abundance of the blessings of Allah whereby His servants are sustained during it.

In a letter he sent to Jarrah al-Madayini, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub cites Imam Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq (as) saying, "Fast is not only to abstain from eating and drinking." Then the Imam (as) quoted Mary (as) mother of Christ (as), as the Holy Qur'an tells us, saying that she had vowed a fast for the Most Merciful One. The Imam (as) continued to say, "When you fast, you should safeguard your tongues, lower your gaze, and you should neither dispute with nor envy one another." This is recorded on p. 351, Vol. 94, of Bihar al-Anwar.

The Imam (as) is also quoted in the same and following page of the said reference saying, "When you fast, let your hearing and vision abstain with you from anything unlawful, against everything ugly, and leave hypocrisy aside, and do not harm those who serve you. Rather, adorn yourself with the dignity of the fast, and do not make your fasting day any different from the day when you do not fast."

source:http://www.al-islam.org/fast-month-ramadhan-philosophy-and-ahkam-yasin-t-al-jibouri/fast-month-ramadhan

Salah, the formal five-times-a-day Islamic prayer, is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is also the criterion that distinguishes a Muslim from a non-Muslim. Non-Muslims offer supplications, fast, tithe, and perform pilgrimmages, but only a Muslims offers salat. If you see someone offering salat, you may be sure that s/he is Muslim.

SALAT - formal prayer

How to Perform Ablution

http://English.islamway.com/flashpage.php?id=3&cat=1&file_name=ablution&width=782&height=438

Download File Here: http://English.islamway.com/flashes/1/ablution.exe

how to pray

http://www.jannah.com/learn/flashprayer1.HTML

http://www.ummah.org.UK/software/cyber/

This site gives you the words you need to say:

http://www.islamway.com/English/images/prayer/contents.htm

If you are a beginner who needs to learn the basic steps of Prayer in Islam.

(with sound - http://English.islamway.com/prayer/BegSound.htm)

(w/o sound - http://English.islamway.com/prayer/BegNoSound.htm)

If you want to learn prayers from A to Z including Sunnah actions.

(with sound - http://English.islamway.com/prayer/AdvSound.htm)

(w/o sound - http://English.islamway.com/prayer/AdvNoSound.htm)

---

This one gives you the times:

http://www.solat.net/

Find a mosque near you!

http://www.islamcan.com/masjid/index.shtml

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Answer

Since Âdam (alaihissalâm), there was namâz [ritual prayer] once a day in every religion. All that had been performed were brought together and were made fard [commanded] for us. Although performing namâz is not a pillar of îmân [belief], it is a pillar of îmân to believe that namâz is fard. "Namâz" means "duâ." The 'ibâdat that is commanded by the Sharî'at and which we all know was named "namâ." Performing the five daily prayers of namâz is fard-i 'ayn for every Muslim who has reached the age of puberty. That it is fard is openly stated in the Qur'ân and hadîths. Five daily prayers of namâz became a commandment on the Mi'râj night. The Mi'râj happened on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Rajab a year before the Hegira. Before the Mi'râj, only the morning and afternoon prayers were performed. A child must be ordered to perform namâz at the age of seven and should be beaten if it does not perform it at the age of ten. It is also necessary to teach other ibâdats to children at this age, to accustom them to doing them, and to prevent them from sins.

For the purpose of showing the importance of fard namâz, Muhammad Rabhâmî (rahmatullahi alaih) wrote the Persian book Riyâd-un-nâsihîn, a collection from four hundred and forty-four books, in India in 853 A.H., in the twelfth chapter of the first section of the second part of which he said:

"In the two fundamental books of Islam called Sahîhayn [Bukhârî and Muslim], Rasûlullah (sall-Allahu alaihi WA sallam) asked in a hadîth-i sherîf reported by Jâbir bin 'Abdullah (radiy-Allahu 'anh): "If there were a river in front of one's house and if he washed himself in this river five times every day, would there be any dirt left on him?" We [Jâbir ibn 'Abdullah and other Sahâbîs present there] said, "No, O Rasûlallah." The Prophet said, "Likewise, minor sins of those who perform the five daily prayers are forgiven." [Some ignorant people, upon hearing this hadîth, say, "Then, I will both perform namâz and amuse myself as I wish. My sins will be forgiven anyhow." This thought is not correct because a namâz that is performed observing its conditions and âdâb and is accepted will cancel sins. In fact, even if minor sins are forgiven, continuing to commit or insisting on minor sins will become grave sins. And insisting on committing grave sins will cause kufr (disbelief.)]

Ibn Jawzî wrote in Tafsîr-i-Mugnî: "Abû Bakr-i Siddîq (radiy-Allahu 'anh) said that, when the time of a daily prayer of namâz comes, angels say, 'O the sons of Âdam, stand up! Extinguish the fire prepared to burn human beings by performing namâz.'" In a hadîth-i sherîf, it was said, "The difference between the Believer and the unbeliever is namâz," that is, the Believer performs namâz, and the unbeliever does not. Munâfiqs, however, sometimes perform it and sometimes do not. Munâfiqs will undergo very bitter torment in Hell. 'Abdullah ibn Abbâs (radiy-Allahu 'anh), the leader of mufassirs, said that he heard Rasûlullah say, "Those who do not perform namâz will find Allahu ta'âlâ angry on the Day of Resurrection."

The imâms of hadîth unanimously said, "People who do not perform a namâz in its due time intentionally, that is, if they are not sorry for not performing a namâz while its due time is ending, will become kâfirs or will lose their îmân during their death. What will become of those who do not remember namâz or see namâz as a duty?" The Ahl as-Sunnat savants unanimously said, "Ibâdât are not a part of îmân." But there was not a unanimity concerning namâz. The fiqh imâms, Imâm Ahmed Ibn Hanbel, Is'hâq ibn Rahawayh, 'Abdullah ibn Mubârak, Ibrâhîm Nahâî, Hakem ibn Hutayba, Ayyûb Sahtiyânî, Dâwûd Tâî, Abû Bakr ibn Shayba and Zubeyr ibn Harb and many other great savants, said that one who does not perform a namâz intentionally becomes a kâfir. Then, O Muslim Brother, do not miss any namâz and do not be slack; perform it with love! If Allahu ta'âlâ punishes according to the ijtihâd of these savants on the Day of Judgement, what will you do?

Tafsîr-i Mugnî says, "One of the superiors asked the devil what he should do to become damned like him. The devil was pleased and said, 'If you want to be like me, do not pay attention to namâz and take an oath on everything right or wrong, that is take an oath very much!' That person said, 'I will never neglect namâz and will not take any oath from now on. '" In the Hanbalî Madhhab, a Muslim who does not perform a namâz without an excuse will be put to death like a murtad [renegade], and his corpse will not be washed or shrouded, nor will his janâza namâz be performed. He will not be buried in Muslims' cemetery, and his grave will not be made distinguishable. He will be put in a hollow on the mountain. In the Shâfi'î Madhhab, one who persists in not performing namâz does not become a murtad, but the punishment will be death. That the Mâlikî Madhhab is the same as the Shâfi'î in this respect is written in Ibni 'Âbidîn and on the sixty-third page of the translation of Milal-nihâl. And in the Hanafî Madhhab, he is imprisoned until he begins namâz or beaten until bleeding. [However, he who attaches no importance to namâz or who does not know it as a duty will be a kâfir in all the four madhhabs. It is written in the subject of the afflictions incurred by the tongue in Al-hadîqa that he becomes a kâfir according to the Hanafî Madhhab, too, if he neglects namâz intentionally and does not think of performing its qadâ and does not fear that he will be tormented for this.] Allahu ta'âlâ did not order non-Muslims to perform namâz or to fast. They are not honored with the commandments of Allahu ta'âlâ. They are not punished for not performing namâz or for not fasting. They only deserve Hell, which is the punishment for kufr.

In the book Zâd-ul-muqwîn, it is said: "Early savants wrote that those who do not do five things are deprived of five things:

1- They who do not give the zakât of their property do not get any benefit from their property.

2- In the land and earning of people who do not give their 'ushr, there is no abundance left.

3- Health is absent in the body of a person who does not give alms.

4- People who do not pray will not attain to their wishes.

5- People who do not want to perform a namâz when its

time comes cannot say the Kalima-i shahâdat at their last breath. A person who does not perform namâz because of laziness although he believes that it is the first duty, is a fâsiq. He is not the peer of a sâliha [pious] girl, that is, he does not deserve and is not suitable for her." As it is seen, not performing the fard namâz causes one to die without îmân. Continuing to perform namâz causes the enlightenment of the heart and the attainment of endless bliss. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu alaihi WA sallam) declared, "Namâz is nûr," that is, it brightens the heart in the world and illuminates the Sirât in the next world." (Riyâd-un-nâsihîn)

A hadîth-i sherîf, quoted in the book Qurratul'uyûn,

declares, "If a person does not perform namâz though he has no good excuse, Allahu ta'âlâ will give him fifteen kinds of plague. Six of them will come in the world, three will come at the time of death, three will come in the grave, and three will come when rising from the grave. The six plagues in the world are:

1- A person who does not perform namâz will not have barakat in his lifetime.

2- He will not have the beauty, the lovableness peculiar to those who are loved by Allahu ta'âlâ.

3- He will not be given thawâb for any good he does.

4- His prayers (duâs) will not be accepted.

5- No one will like him.

6- Blessings that (other) Muslims invoked on him will do him no good.

Kinds of torment he will suffer when dying are:

1- He will expire in an abhorrent, unsightly, repugnant manner.

2- He will die hungry.

3- Much water as he may have, he will die with painful

thirst.

Kinds of torment he will suffer in the grave are:

1- The grave will squeeze him. His bones will intertwine.

2- His grave will be filled with fire, which will scorch him day and night.

3- Allahu ta'âlâ will send a huge serpent to his grave. It is not like terrestrial serpents. It will sting him at every prayer time each day. It will never leave him alone any moment.

Kinds of torment he will suffer after rising are:

1- Angels of torment that will drag him to Hell will never leave him alone.

2- Allahu ta'âlâ will meet him with wrath.

3- His account will be settled in a very vehement manner, and he will be flung into Hell."

• Adult, sane, healthy Muslims must fast from dawn to sunset during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Islamic fasting means refraining from eating, drinking, and marital intimacy between dawn and sunset. The ill and travelers are excused from fasting, but must make up the days they missed later in the year. Those who are permanently unable to fast may buy food to feed the poor, instead.

• Islam promises exceptional rewards to Muslims who also observe optional, or Sunnah, fasts on:

• Monday and Thursday of each week.

• The three days each month when the moon is full.

• The day of Ashurah and either the day before and or the day after it. (Ashurah commemorates the escaped of Prophet Moses (God bless him and grant him peace) and his people from Egypt.
• The 9th day of the 12th month of the Islamic lunar calendar (called Arafa day) if he/she is not on hajj (or pilgrimage)

Hello brother.

Its called KABA.Its not a shrine but a simple structure.The foundation of KABA was put by none other then the first man on earth ADAM (peace be upon him).During the days of Propeht Ibrahim (peace be upon him), it was built in this structure.The present structure is raised in height by the subsequent rulers of Makkah mukarramah.

There are mainly 02 significant things to know about KABA

1) Its the centre point towards which all Muslims turn to and face it for offering the 05 times prayers. All masjids (the common prayer halls for Muslims everywhere) are constructed facing the KABA. This direction is generally called "Qibla".

There is a big masjid built around KABA and its called "masjid haram shareef".As this is the starting point (of forming the prayer lines) the masjid is constructed in circular manner so that Muslims stand in round circles around KABA for offering prayers (salath,namaz).

2) The other significant thing to know about KABA is the sacrifice of Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son Hazrat Ismail (peace be upon him) .You can Google and read the complete story of sacrifice.We Muslims remember this sacrifice to this day by celebrating "Eid al Zuha", a major festival of Islam.For your information, Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son Hazrat Ismail (peace be upon him) are accepted by Christians and Jews also as the messenger of ALLAH.

As this KABA was the same place where this sacrifice took place and subsequently the water of "zam-zam" (stop-stop) started to flow from earth and thus laying the foundations of livelihood and human settlements.So today, millions of Muslims around the world visit here and perform HAJJ (a ritual which is one of the 05 pillars of Islam, though compulsory for only those Muslims who can afford it.)

every year on 10th of Zul-Hajj, the last month of hijri calendar.

The date today is 25th November 2009 (08 Zul Hajj 1430) and tomorrow happens to be Arafat, the day before Eid-al-zuha.I want to put up an article regarding this holiday.

I ask for pardon to ALLAH if I make any mistake in above writing.

Assalamualikum.

MSS.Sharjah.UAE

The meaning of Eid Al Adha

By Dr. Akram Bou-Ghannam

Holidays become meaningless when their original purpose and meaning are

forgotten. In such instances, the holiday becomes merely an occasion for festivity and

indulgence. So, Why we celebrate this holy day of Eid Al Adha?

The story Eid Al Adha has a biblical origin, and it is the story of the testing of

Ibrahim's (peace be upon him) faith by God. Both the Quran and the Torah record the high drama narratives of

the story. The Quran records Ibrahim saying: "Son, God came to me in a vision and

commanded me to offer you as a sacrifice. What do you think we should do?" Ismail

replied: "I trust God and will abide by His will. Do what he commanded you to do."

At the last split second, God interrupts the sacrificial process. God intervenes saying:

"O Ibrahim, thou has already fulfilled the vision." Ibrahim passes the test, and a ram was

substituted for sacrifice in place of the son. Thus, father & son became role models for

true Muslims; those who place God's will before their own. Ibrahim, after waiting for so

long for an heir promised by God, is now required to sacrifice him. Ismail, on the other

hand, was asked to make the supreme sacrifice; his own life.

So what is the moral and significance of the story? The moral of the story is that

GOD DOES NOT DEMAND HUMAN SACRIFICE, BUT TRUST AND OBEDIENCE AS A BASIS

FOR FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. The story was about a trial of the will and the faith of the

father and the son. Ibrahim was tested on the priorities of his faith, love, and trust. Ismail (peace be upon him)

was tested for obedience. SELF-SACRIFICE is the significance of the story sufficient to

celebrate Eid Al Adha. Ismail offered to stand true to his promise if his self-sacrifice was

really required.

What does Eid Al Adha mean to us - the Muwahhidun? Like Ibrahim & Ismail, we

their descendants, are to be tested for our worthiness also. We qualify by traveling a

threefold path to Peace, Faith, and Unity. Our pilgrimage is strewn with temptations,

obstacles, and distractions. Our free will is tested and we must SACRIFICE to reach our

objective of UNITY WITH GOD.

In our lives we should be striving for Unity with God, and sacrificing to achieve our

goal in Tawhid. First, one must avoid Self-Indulgence. This lesson is learned by the

luminary al-Aql is ever with us. Can some one tell us what this lesson is?

Our achievement through our mental faculty must be tempered with piety (humility),

lest our attainment make us arrogant and cause us to be cut off from the blessing and

union with the One.

Second we must sacrifice worldly pleasures. We should not let worldly pleasures

distract us from the deeper meanings and noble pursuits in our daily lives, and especially

on this noble occasion and revered religious holy day.

So, what is the meaning of Pilgrimage in Tawhid. In Muslim traditions Eid Al Adha

is a very important component of the pilgrimage to the House of God. One third of the

sacrifice (contributions, charity) on the Eid to be given to the poor, 1/3 as a donation, and

1/3 retained for kinsfolk (relatives). Tawhid considers pilgrimage not simply a physical

trip to Mecca, but a pilgrimage to the "House of Knowledge" or Tawhid. Thus our life

itself becomes a continuous pilgrimage on the path of Tawhid leading ultimately to the

union with the One.

In summary, we learned what the real meaning of sacrifice is. We learned that life

itself is a test. The journey to the "House of Knowledge" will demand a great deal of

sacrifice for the common good in this world, and for the eternal unity with God. So, Eid

Al Adha is the day of:

1) Self-judgment, whereby we reinforce our faith, and assess and judge our actions and

behavior

2) Recognition, Appreciation, and Remembrance

3) Celebrating God's existence and the revelation of His Instructions

4) Reconfirming Tawhid and the Oneness of God

MIRANSHAH: The tribesmen of North Waziristan Agency would celebrate Eid-ul-Fitar on Saturday as a local unofficial committee announced sighting of Shawal moon.

A local committee meeting was held in Miranshah, on Friday. The residents resorted to aerial firing in celebration. According to local committee fifteen witnesses received from different areas of the agency.

updated 1 hour, 59 minutes ago

Answer 1

It is Haraam (forbidden) to have a girlfriend in the first place whether in Ramadhan or any other time. You should make arrangements for Nikaah (marriage).

Answer 2

For those who are of a more liberal bent than the perspective of Answer 1 and believe that it is permissible to men and women to have close (if not intimate) relationships prior to marriage, it is permissible to have conversations with your non-married partner during Ramadan. However, you should refrain from any physically intimate activities.